Wine of the Month - August 2017

Sauvignon Blanc is a tricky grape. It's prized for its acidity, but keep it for too long and its attractive flavours of grass and passionfruit deteriorate into cooked vegetal notes. So at the recent Margaret River 50th Anniversary Tasting, when I tasted the Umamu Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and found it so fresh and vibrant, I expected that it was from a recent vintage. To my surprise it was a 2010 bottling, making it a wine that is seven years old and looking far younger than many other Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blends at the tasting.

Umamu is the brainchild of Penang-born Charmaine Saw, an overachiever who studied chemistry in the United Kingdom and trained as a chef with Le Cordon Bleu before pursuing a career in management consulting. She sought the assistance of one of Western Australia's most renowned winemakers to craft the wines, but the marketing and direction bears her stamp. Balance and contentment are the keywords, imparting a very zen approach to what is quintessentially a western beverage.

Wine: Umamu Estate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2010

Tasting note: Fresh and surging with vitality, as though it was just bottled. There is prominent lime and citrus fruit on the palate, with just a murmur of oak providing the backdrop. I wouldn't normally recommend a Sauvignon Blanc to age, but there are some Asian genes to this particular wine.